By Francis Wakefield Top officials of the Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) and the Directorate General of Armaments and Materiel (DGAM) of the Ministry of Defense of Spain met in Manila during the latter’s visit to the country from October 20 to 23, 2018. Headed by Maj. Gen. Felipe De La Plaza, deputy national armament director for international relations, the Spain delegation discussed with Philippine defense officials the proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) on logistics, defense materiel, armaments and defense industry cooperation between the two countries. Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Logistics Jesus Rey Avilla, who led the delegation of the DND and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said the proposed MOU will serve as the legal framework for the DND to procure defense equipment from Spain through government-to-government deals pursuant to RA 9184. "This is very timely in light of the ongoing implementation of the 2nd Horizon of the Revised AFP Modernization Program (RAFPMP),” Avilla said. The Spanish delegation also manifested interest in collaborating with the local defense industry and even visited ARMSCOR, a local firearms manufacturing company. Spanish Defense Industries have been actively participating in various procurement projects of the AFP under the AFP modernization program. Among the most recent acquisitions involving Spain were the three units of medium-lift aircraft (C295) for the Philippine Air Force (PAF) worth PhP5.29 billion, which were procured from Spanish aircraft manufacturer EADS CASA, now Airbus. The aircraft units are now being used for air transport and humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR). Additionally, a notice of award has been issued on 16 October 2018 in favor of Airbus for the procurement of one unit of command and control fixed-wing turboprop aircraft for the PAF with a contract price of P1.8 billion.